State Highlights: Libraries Adding Health Services For Homeless; Conn. Employees Use Preventive Care Under Wellness Plan
News outlets report on health issues in Washington, D.C., Connecticut and Ohio.
Stateline:
Enlisting Public Libraries To Help Fight Homelessness
Every weekday morning, people line up outside the central library in the nation’s capital and wait for it to open. ... Public libraries have long been havens for people with nowhere else to go. Now, a growing number of library systems are adding services for patrons who are homeless, hungry, or suffering from drug addiction or mental illness. For the District of Columbia, that means hiring a social worker, partnering with nonprofits and organizing social hours. (Quinton, 4/4)
The Connecticut Mirror:
Study: State Employee Wellness Plan Increased Use Of Preventive Care
A wellness program added to the state employee health plan as part of a controversial 2011 concession package led to significant increases in the use of preventive care and a drop in certain emergency room visits, but it’s still too soon to say if it will save the state money, according to a study published Monday in the journal Health Affairs. (Levin Becker, 4/5)
The Cleveland Plain Dealer:
Cleveland Clinic Study Finds Bariatric Surgery Highly Effective In Treating Type 2 Diabetes
Clinic doctors released the final results of a five-year study showing that Type 2 diabetes patients who underwent bariatric surgery fared much better than those who received conventional medical therapy. (Ross, 4/4)
The Columbus Dispatch:
New Moms Getting Neighborhood Help To Combat Infant Mortality In Columbus
Last week, 16 women of wide-ranging ages and backgrounds gathered in a classroom at Ohio State University Hospital East to learn how to help their neighbors navigate a complicated health-care system and advocate for the treatment they need. (Kurtzman, 4/4)
